When Your Milk Expires the Day You Go Home, You Know It Is Getting Real.

My weeks are seriously going too fast! I feel like I don't have enough time in the week to accomplish all that we need to get done. 

We had MLC on Tuesday and we learned a lot from President Mortensen, as usual. We reevaluated each zone's commitment for baptisms per month and had a long discussion on that. Long story short, as a mission we have to be finding 3 new investigators each week in order to make sure we stay on track with our commitment for baptisms. After the age change, a lot of missions were seeing a huge increase in baptisms and then once those missionaries left and the missions had less missionaries, baptisms decreased. President shared with us that we are 1 of 2 missions in the United States that has continued to have an increase in baptisms even with decreased number of missionaries. Things are going well in the Texas Houston Mission and I am glad to be here! 

We role played a more effective way of teaching about prophets in order to set up an investigator to understand that one of the fruits of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is the Book of Mormon. Then we role played introducing the Book of Mormon more effectively as well. I was thinking to myself, "Why haven't we learned this sooner?" Haha! It's okay, because I got to use what I learned that night with the Upshaw family. It was a good lesson and we are going back sometime this week to finish the lesson. We took Avery Hersom with us and we are going to do a mini mission with him this evening. He is coming with us tonight and then he will stay with us until Wednesday. He is preparing to serve a mission right now. He just submitted his papers, I think! 

Wednesday, we had dinner with the Ashton's and Rhett gave us a name of one of his friends, Isaiah, to go by on Thursday. After we got our new car on Thursday, we went by! It was a miracle that we even found him because Rhett just gave us the gate code and said it was the house on the left. We went in and went to what we thought was the first house on the left and it was not his house. It was some crazy lazy who told us that she believes in God but not Jesus Christ. I have never heard that before. We were about to just leave the neighborhood but I had the impression to just go down that street and go to the first house on the left on the opposite side of the road. We went there and sure enough it was the right house. We knocked and at first no one answered so we left. As we were leaving, I saw someone in my mirror so I turned that Corolla around and went back there as quickly as I could. It was his cousin but he said that Isaiah was there. He went and got him! We talked to him for just a couple minutes and told him that Rhett said to stop by if we were ever in the area. We set up a time to come back on Saturday but he was busy. We are hoping to see him this week. 

Friday, I taught my last zone meeting on my birthday! That was pretty cool. By the way, thank you all for the birthday wishes! I had a great day and we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. I got my usual. Grilled BBQ chicken with a sweet potatoe loaded (with brown sugar and marshmallows) and a side salad with honey mustard. YES, PLEASE. It is a lot of food so I always cut my chicken and sweet patatoe in half and then have it for lunch the next day. Brother Stewart took us out that night. 

Saturday, the Princes from College Park (my first area) came and took us out to breakfast at the Toasted Yolk. That place is SO good. I thought about getting that cowboy scramble again, but I decided to be healthier, so I got an egg-white omelet. It was super yummy too! We had some Family History training from Brother Evans after that. 

We had dinner with the Douglas' last night. They are not in our ward anymore, but since I technically cover the stake, we went over. :) It was good to see them! He was our last Ward Mission Leader. 

Things are going really well here for me, and my time is going way too fast! I love you all and I will see you soon. P.S. Bailley gets the first hug! I love you Buddah! :) 

​I am pretty tight with my money so I had to get creative. This is all leftovers from members so I just put it all together and made a salad. Spinach, kidney beans, grilled chicken, celery, cucumber, hard boiled egg (that was mine), and some bbq sauce and black pepper. :) 

So, this is the milk that I bought today. It expires the day I go home. 

Here is our brand spankin' new corolla. It had 8 miles on it when we got her. :) 

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a great start to 2016! This past year flew by for me. I have learned a lot about myself as I have forgotten about me and focused on serving others, and more importantly, serving the Lord. 

This week flew by for us! We have been finding a lot of people and some of our investigators dropped us. We had a miracle one night this past week where it was getting really late but we still wanted to go visit someone so we searched our online area book. As I scrolled down the page, this name Chris really stood out to me, so we went to visit him. We got to the apartment and he had moved a few months ago, but we started talking to the person that lived there. Her name was Cheyenne and her son had passed away recently so we were talking about the Plan of Salvation with her. She wanted us to come back and share more, but then texted us saying that her husband told her that we can't. :/  Hopefully, we opened the door for some future missionaries. 

I have learned that when people stick strictly to the "culture of things," they block the door for revelation. Some people are so stuck on what they have been brought up hearing that they are not even open to learning more, even if it is true and could bring them greater happiness and peace. For example, we were tracting last light and we knocked into this lady that was super nice to us and asked us what religion we were and I said, "Well, we are Christian and we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." She responded, "Well you have to be Baptist, Catholic, or something so what are you?" I said exactly what I said the first time and then added, "Have you ever heard of Mormons?" She then said, "Oh don't talk to me. I don't like Mormons." She then started to walk back inside and I said, "Why don't you like Mormons?" And she said, "Because." I said, "Because why? Did you have a bad interaction with one?" She said, "No, I just don't like them. I heard you guys don't even believe in God." Elder Nielsen asked to share the Christmas video and, luckily, she let him. After it was over I said I think it is safe to say we certainly believe in God, and in our Savior Jesus Christ. I am sorry you have heard some bad things about us, but they are not true. I then said that is why there is 85,000 of us going around the world to share what we really believe. We asked if we could come back and she said that if we were ever in the area we could stop by. I was SO happy that we left on a good note! 

The miracle I want to share this week is that Greg, the Saenz son now has a baptismal date for February 6th! I went to a pass-off lesson with the Crighton Elders and we taught him the Restoration. He was sharing with us that he knew that Heavenly Father was already blessing him for his decision to start investigating the Lord's Church. He has already found a job and he has been out of work for over a month now! His life is starting to get back to where he wants it to be. I told him that his countenance has changed within just a week. I said, "I see it most in your eyes, but I can tell you are more peaceful, happy, and confident in yourself but more importantly, in God." He has a light in his eyes that was not there a week ago. The light of Jesus Christ is real, and I have learned a lot just by looking into peoples eyes. 

I went up to share my testimony this past Sunday in fast and testimony meeting for the last time as a set-apart missionary. That was crazy to think. I shared a few things that I have learned over the course of my mission and thanked the members for all that they do for us. We could not do what we do without the help of members. I shared my testimony of the Book of Mormon and explained how the amount of the Book of Mormon an individual reads is directly proportionate to their conversion. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that is was written for our day and age. I love it, I love it, I love it. It has brought me closer to my Savior Jesus Christ and to my Father in Heaven than any other book of scripture. 

I hope everyone had a great week and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers every day! I love you guys!! 

​I roasted some veggies in the oven this past week. They were pretty good! 

My companions and I say hello! Shooting some love from Conroe! 

Many Miracles!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It was so nice for me to be able to Skype with my family. I love you all SO much and I thank you for your continued support! 

Tuesday, we had our first lesson with Zeke. We taught him the first half of the restoration lesson and then came back to finish the rest of the lesson on Saturday. That night we went finding and we didn't have a ton of success but we kept on going. It was getting a little late and it was after 8 o'clock but we decided to knock one more door. The last house we knocked let us in! It is the Upshaw family and we are going back over this Wednesday to see them. They have friends that are members of the church and they live in the first ward I served in with Elder Christensen. The family they know super well is the Huberts. We shared the Christmas video and talked about the Savior's earthly ministry. They were probably one of the nicest families I have ever met! 

We had our Christmas Conference on Wednesday and that was sweet! It is pretty cool to see a Sacrament room completely filled with missionaries. President and Sister Mortensen gave some training and then we had a huge lunch together and then sang Christmas songs and watched a slideshow that President's daughter Paige put together for the mission. All of the missionaries sent in two pictures about two weeks ago and she put together a sweet slideshow with them all. 

After we Skyped with our families, we went to the Saenz's house and something really cool happened. One of their sons, Greg, was there and we started to talk to him and he opened up to us. He explained that when his parents were baptized he saw a change in them over night. He said, "I noticed that they were more happy and that they had more peace in their lives. I desire to have that." He has since been reading from the Book of Mormon and he attended his first church service yesterday and LOVED it! I gave him our number and told him to call us if he had any questions. He called me last night and said, "Elder DeLuca, I went to church today and it was literally everything that I needed. The speakers, what we talked about in class, and the fellowship from everyone was just outstanding." I replied, "Well I am so happy that you had such a good time. That just made my day!" He said, "No, Elder DeLuca, I didn't have a good time.  It was great!" It was so sick when he said that to me. Now he is wanting to meet with the missionaries to work towards getting baptized. He lives in Spring outside of our zone, but he may be moving up here to Conroe so we will see which missionaries would be best for him! 

Saturday, we brought Chris Saenz out to some appointments with us and we had something cool happen. After seeing Brother Bailey, we went to Zeke's. We finished our lesson with Zeke and then at the end of the lesson went over the steps to pray. We asked him specifically to pray for the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and he said that he would. He didn't mention it in his prayer, so right when he finished I said, "Did you notice how you didn't pray about the Book of Mormon?" He said "Yes," and then I said, "Would you be willing to say another prayer and this time include to ask Heavenly Father to know of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon?" He said that he would and he didn't have a problem with that. It was a little awkward at first, but if we don't help prepare him to receive and answer, then we are setting him up to fail. I only have a month left of my mission so I don't mess around anymore! Haha. 

After that lesson, we had the thought to call Austin because he lives there in that complex, and right when we called him we saw him in the distance so I ran over to him and asked if he had just 20 or 30 minutes for a brief lesson. He said yes! This was a miracle because we had not planned to have that lesson with him, but we did plan on getting our mission standard of excellence with 5 member present lessons that week and the Lord knew that. Our district leader gave us a priesthood assignment to make sure that we got at least 5 member present lessons, and we did! 

That night, we had a lesson with Nori and it didn't go as well as we would have liked. We were going with the intent to answer some questions he had left us with the previous visit and he came loaded with more. He basically was looking into things that are not church doctrine and they were stupid questions that he was just trying to trick us and catch us in our words and I called him out on it. I said, "Nori, are you asking these questions because you are trying to show us what you think MIGHT be wrong with our beliefs, or are you wanting to join Christ's Church and you just want some questions answered first?" He was like, "Uhhhhh.....Well I never really thought of that but probably just trying to show you what I think is wrong." I said, "We can go back and forth all night and answer these questions but it really isn't going to do either of us much good. I think you owe it to yourself to check out a church service and see how you FEEL inside when you come." He said, "I think you are right and I want you guys to know I think you are great and I love you guys so I'll come check it out." Well, he never ended up coming because he was in Houston, he said, but he knows what time we start next week. We will have members reach out to him! 

That is the gist of our week! It was really good, and the temperature is finally starting to drop! I had my first 80 degree Christmas and hopefully the last! I hope you all have a great week and a Happy New Year! 

Merry Christmas from our district! 

Sorry for the light on this, but I thought it would be cool to get one with this plaque! :) 

New Companion, New Gators, and New Boundaries!

Elder Myers left us on Tuesday and he is now up in Huntsville about 30 miles north of us.  We got a new companion Elder Young who is joining us. We are still in a trio! He is from Sandy, Utah. 

We have been using the "A Savior Is Born" pass-along cards and we have had a lot of success with finding new people to teach by using them in our finding efforts. This past week we found 6 new investigators and our mission standard is 2 each week. Not bad for a white guy. 

We had a lesson with Rebecca on Wednesday and we just read through a chapter of the Book of Mormon with her because she hadn't read. After reading through the chapter she was talking about how she has had a lot of people try to talk to her about religion but she was never really interested. Then she said this. "When you guys knocked on my door I knew there was a reason for it, and I have been so intrigued to learn more." How sick is that? She then said that it had been over 17 years that she has been to a church but she feels like she needs to make a promise to God to come. My response was, "Rebecca, the Lord would have you come to His church, will you come this Sunday?" She said I will be there and guess what? SHE CAME!! I have learned that being lovingly bold with people works when people are prepared. Truth is, the Lord really would have her come to His church, so why not say that if I represent Him? I would be silly to not say that. She came to church and she loved it. She said, "I'll be here next Sunday." 

We had a district meeting on Friday and it was Elder Burch's first district meeting and President and Sister Mortensen came. He was a little nervous that President was coming, but I love it when the big dog comes around. I used to think he bites, but now I know he doesn't. :) It was really cool because it wasn't my district so I was in there without a companion so when we role played, President and I were companions and we taught together. SO SICK! I love him so much. We practiced role playing extending a baptismal invitation after the first lesson. Elder Burch and Elder Hanks taught us first and then we threw it down. We did something similar to our lesson with Rebecca. We said, "When you come to know that the Book of Mormon is true, the Lord would have you be baptized in His church. So when you come to know that it is true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" When you are that direct with people and the Spirit is there, they want to say YES! 

After district meeting, we went to lunch with one of my former companions Elder Lythgoe. He and a couple of his buddies were up here for a wedding and so they took us out to lunch! It was good to see them, and Ill see them in Utah next month! 

Saturday morning, the Turners came up here from Katy and they took us all out to breakfast at this place called the Toasted Yolk. It is so good! I have been eating pretty clean lately but it was time to throw it down on some good food. I got this plate of biscuits and gravy with eggs, onions, ham, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. You guys, I cannot begin to tell you how good it was! It was huge too and I ate all of it! It was worth the calories. 

Sunday, we learned of the boundary changes that everyone has been wondering about for months now. There were a couple new wards created in our Stake and they took part of our ward and the Conroe 1st Ward as well. We lost a few of my favorite members in the ward including the Saenz. Robert and Alice were there at the meeting and I went over to them after and Alice was crying because she thought she wasn't going to see me anymore. She almost made me start crying but I reassured her that I cover the entire stake so I will still be seeing them. :) She was happy about that. It will be a good change for them and they are going to meet a lot of new friends. I am excited for them!  

Merry Christmas to everyone! I want to thank everyone in advance for all of the cards and packages I have been receiving! I am so blessed to have my wonderful family and friends. I love you all!! 

This is kinda blurry, but Elder Young put up the lights and the stockings and then Elder Nielsen says hello. :) 

​This is our nice carpet after I vacuumed it. :) 

Thanks for the ornament Mamma!! 

MLC, Seminary, and the Temple

Well, this week flew by! Elder Myers is being transferred so we are really going to miss him, especially me. He is like my son! We have had a great three months together and I know why President felt inspired for us to be companions. We have learned a lot from each other. HE is going to do great things and touch the lives of many! 

Tuesday, we had Mission Leadership Council and it went really well! President Mortensen never ceases to amaze me with his council he gives. It is pretty amazing. We talked a lot about working better with our ward councils and then President threw it down for a while. It was sick. We role played Matthew 14 where Peter walks on the water to Jesus and likened that unto someone who is not sure about their baptismal date. 

After MLC, we had dinner with the Russo's. On our way there, I saw a bumper sticker that said, "All gave some, and some gave all." That really was profound to me at that very moment. I was thinking about that in relation to missionaries. Every single one of us gave something up to be here. We have all left our family, friends, hobbies, and even education. We have all let our comfort zone. The question is are we giving it our all? That is a more and more sobering thought for those who are nearing the end of their missions. I do not want to regret not working hard after I come home, so my promise to you guys is that I am giving it my all! #NOREGRETS 

Thursday, we taught seminary and they are studying the Old Testament. We went through Numbers 20 and 21. I learned a lot from studying and preparing to teach them. I made cake pops and chocolate covered pretzels for them. They were all over that! 

After we finished teaching seminary, we went back to our apartment to get some breakfast and then we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple as a district. This past week was one of the best experiences for me because I paid close attention to the symbolism we learn about in the Lord's house. I learned more on Thursday than all of the other times combined. I know in the temple we can find peace and happiness and it is the only place where those feeling will last. 

Friday, we taught zone meeting and I covered the stuff about working with ward council and then the Sister training leaders talked about all of the stuff that President threw down. One thing he said was this.  He was talking to a physiologist once and he told President that, "Shy people are the most self-centered people in the world." That is a big pill to swallow for those who may be shy, but think about that. How true that really is. They are too concerned about what others may think of them so they don't speak up. They related that to missionaries who don't want to go tracting or talk to people. Elder Nielsen and I modeled the role play with the Sister training leaders as our investigators. Elder Elsberry discreetly filmed it and the airdropped it to me. Haha...it was cool to go back and see what it looks like when we teach. 

We went to Texas Roadhouse for Elder Myers' birthday and it was so fun. I LOVE that place! Their food is seriously the best. Its cool because in Arizona and Utah they say, "Welcome to Texas Roadhouse."  But here, they just say, "Welcome to Roadhouse." :) 

We found a new investigator named Austin on Saturday. We were tracting out an apartment complex and then we found him towards the end of the night. He was really cool. We are going back later this week. 

Well that is most of our crazy fast week. I hope you are all having a great holiday season and may we all remember our Savior and all that He has done for each of us as we celebrate this special time of the year. If you haven't already, check out "A Savior Is Born" at christmas.mormon.org and if you have seen it, share it with a friend! I love you guys and may the Lord's greatest blessing be upon you all. Have a great week! 

We helped Brother Stringer make a chicken coop for his rooster. :) 

We got some ornaments for our tree thanks to Sister Falcon! 

New Gators, Last Zone Conference, and the Temple

This past Tuesday, we went tracting and we were sharing the new "A Savior Is Born" video and talked to a guy named Marshall and asked if we could come in and share it with he and his family and he was like, "Yeah come in!" SO sick. His wife's name is Jennifer and they have three daughters. We shared the video and then talked about the Savior's earthly ministry and then set up a return appointment with them for the next day. 

Wednesday, my companions went with Brother Douglas back over to share the restoration lesson with them and Brother Douglas and Marshall hit it off. They were like two peas in a pod. They both do Ironmans and they just clicked. Meanwhile Chris Saenz and I went over to the Kotak's house and we had a lesson with Raj. 

Thursday, I had my last zone conference and I gave my departing testimony. HOLY COW! It's getting real now. I asked the assistants if I could go last because I wanted to throw it down. I talked first about how I have had the privilege of training a new missionary and it has been the coolest experience for me. I said I told Elder Myers just a few weeks ago that the best advice I could give him would be to follow the rules, then I proceeded to talk about the importance of obedience. I then talked about the Book of Mormon and how that book has literally changed my life. I talked about how much I have changed throughout the course of my mission and then shared a couple paragraphs from Christy's email to me this past week. She said;

 "I remember a Sunday, not all that long ago, when a very annoyed young man sat next to me in sacrament meeting.  He definitely did NOT want to be there; he was there because he had to be.  As he sat there, unhappy and frustrated, the organ prelude to the opening song began.  I opened up the hymn book and offered it to the young man.  He said, "You can make me go to church, but you can't make me sing."  Do you know who that young man was?  It was you.....but it wasn't you.  I mean, it was you sitting next to me, but your spirit hadn't yet learned some of the secrets to happiness.

Now, more than 2 years and many spiritual miles later, here you sit, at the jumping-off place to what is certain to be your next great adventure.....the rest of your life!  And, having served the Lord on your mission for almost 2 years now, you have learned so much and changed your heart so completely that you don't even RESEMBLE the young man who sat next to me in church back then and refused to sing.  Now, you know that the secret to a truly happy life is turning our hearts, minds and wills over to Heavenly Father and letting him make of us what He wants us to be.  The truth is that He can make us into far better people than we ever would have the ability to become by following our own desires and impulses.  He loves us so much that He gave us His Only Begotten Son to make it possible for us to change and become the amazing creatures He wants us to be.  Jesus Christ and His gospel are honestly the only ways to true and lasting happiness and joy in this life and the next. You have learned that for yourself and it's been quite a journey from where you were then to where you are now.  Just think of where you'll be 10 years from now!  As you continue living "after the manner of happiness," your potential for true joy is limitless!  The journey you've taken so far makes me so happy.  I am honored beyond words to have witnessed it."

My allergies were really picking up as I read this and it made it really tough to read when my eyes were watering. After that I talked about how I know there are many reasons why I was called to Houston, but I am certain that one of them is because of President Mortensen. I cannot express how much I love my Mission President and his dear family. He has helped me tremendously with becoming something of what I always wanted to become, but more importantly what the Lord would have me become. I have learned much from watching how he and Sister Mortensen treat each other. Obviously, they love each other, but you can tell that they really 'like' being around one another. I talked about the love they have for all of us and how we have much to learn from them. I closed with a verse in Jacob 5:72 and said that the only thing that is keeping us from the presence of the Savior is ourselves. 

Saturday Morning, we went to the temple with the Saenz for their first time doing baptisms for the dead. The Evans came with us and they were the ones who helped the Saenz find family names on family search. It was the coolest experience ever. I can honestly say that being in the temple is my most favorite place in the entire world. That is where lasting peace, joy, and happiness lay. May we all strive to keep the commandments and the covenants that we have made, that we may be able to enter into the Lord's house. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

P.S. Happy Birthday to my little sister, and my biggest fan. I love you, Buddah, and I will be thinking of you this Friday! :) 

Its Christmas time in the city! We are going to get ornaments soon so don't worry. :) 

A Great Turkey Day!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We went to four different members' homes for dinner so I just nibbled on some things at each place that way I didn't have to roll myself out the door. My companions went all out though! 

After our last dinner, we went tracting. We talked to a really nice lady who said we can come back this Wednesday and her name is Teresa. We didn't feel super solid about her so we kept on knocking. After about 20 or so minutes we were starting to become a little frustrated because no one was answering and the ones that did didn't want to have anything to do with us. I suggested that we say a prayer, so I went ahead and offered that. I included in that prayer for Heavenly Father to lead us to someone who he has prepared. After the prayer, it started raining on us. It wasn't too bad at first, but none of us had rain jackets so when it started coming down harder we were all soaking wet. None of us wanted to say it, but we were just not feeling it. We kept on going and still nothing. We were just about to go back and then we decided to knock one more house. The lady ended up not wanting to talk to us and as we were leaving we noticed her neighbors garage was open with the light on. 

As we walked up to the garage a guys was like, "It's the Mormons! Come in here and get out of the rain!" We went in and he explained that he had an in-law that was a member of our church. We talked for a few minutes and then he asked if we wanted some food. My companions were stuffed, so I was like "Sure, I'll take some food!" I am willing to take one for the team. I'll gain a pound for a new investigator any day. Luckily, I just had a tiny bit. I wasn't hungry, but I wanted to get in that house! The chances of someone becoming an investigator and taking the lessons increases dramatically just by entering into their home. After we ate, his wife asked if we wanted to come sit down in the living room. Yes, please! We talked about the Restoration briefly and they both wanted us to come back this coming Saturday so we will see how it goes! :) I am telling you, the "Fourth Watch" is a real principle. The Lord does not come right away. He doesn't come right when it gets tough but, rather, He comes after the trial of our faith. 

Saturday, we had a lesson with Kent and Brother Lane came with us. Kent is the one who used to be a professional boxer and Brother Lane teaches boxing so it was pretty sick. We went in and they talked for just a couple minutes then we had a prayer and talked about the Book of Mormon and explained it in depth. Once I understood this principle that "the amount of the Book of Mormon an investigator reads, is directly proportionate to their conversion," I started to teach it differently. That principle has changed my life forever. It changes my studies, it changes the way I discuss it with members and it changes the way I teach it to non-members. Most importantly, it changes the way I will teach it to my children someday. At the end of the lesson, we asked Kent to say the closing prayer and asked him to ask Heavenly Father to know that the Book of Mormon is true. It's not a matter of "if" it is true. We know it is true. They need to ask for that knowledge to come to them as they read, ponder, and pray about it. He stopped partway through and looked at the pamphlet to see what else he should say, so I whispered to him, "Pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon." And he did. If they don't do it with us, the chances of them praying about it on their own are slim and if they don't say a specific prayer it is hard to get a specific answer. 

This Thursday is my last zone conference so I will be giving my departing testimony and I have literally been thinking about it for weeks now. I have put a lot of thought into it because I ask myself, "What do I wish I would have known when I first came out on my mission?" and "What could I say that would be of the most benefit for the missionaries to hear?" I think about that kind of stuff. I will report next Monday on the things I chose to talk about. My time is going so fast, and I can honestly say that I am learning the most in the last few months of my mission. I love it! Have a great week everyone! 

Sending some love from the three musketeers. :)